Banned

I might have deserved that and unless I was there there is no way I could confirm it's possible it got damaged in the mail. I was just saying mine went through hell and back before it damaged the diode. If that was directed at me I assure you I am learning about the dynamics and still have plenty of room to learn. Maybe I could be your apprentice Obi Wan?

Well-known member

I need keylock for my s4x and locking carry case. When I asked what did you do? I taped one of those star caps on it. Looked at cheapo penstyle starcap lens....burnt black! I wasn't finished I taped that golden dragon head to it too! 5Ummm yeah ecig tip.....shined flashlight inside it....burnt!
:yabbem: $200 + for laser parts and I didn't get to watch the golden dragon's 2mm mouth light up! :yabbem:
And I am admitting to making a retarted mistake of believing the nubm44 with short on back half had a driver in it or I never would have soldered it together. Even at that without the driver it ran for over a week on 2 x 3.7v batteries and I mean good. So I have no choice but question it when you say he said he got it that way?

Peeps starcaps are kiddy laserpointer stuff! These are high powered multi mode laser diodes! Don't even assemble it without the external spring under the G2 focusing ring! In most cases it is sold separately.

Wish I could find a kit to replace the tailcap button o. My S4X with a keylock.
This laser was able to set a leaf on fire submerged in water while it was raining! As previously mentioned with the S4X it lives up to it's name SURVIVAL LASER!

Handheld burning lasers are kiddy lasers. Only children are fascinated by that aspect of laser technology. I care much more about exotic wavelengths and highly coherent lab lasers. The "my laser can burn stuff underwater while it's raining" is what I'd expect a kid to say. It is certainly not what people who work with them find interesting.

Well-known member

I do enjoy learning how things work and even dream up new ideas, also a good quality LPM can give you a number, but burning tests do give an additional benchmark by showing how well the energy is being focused over distances.

Burning through a known media or achieving flashpoint is another good test that can be used at distance intervals to see how well the energy is being focused, and with these phosphor pump brute strength diodes getting a decent beam has challenges as beam quality was never in the original design as much as efficiency and total output.

I love a nice tight 660nm beam, and I still love the deep red color, but I don't bother burning with those diodes anymore, or my 532's or even 520's as they are more enjoyable for aesthetics and making a nice tight spot in the far field.

But give me a million dollar sodium star yellow astronomy laser and I won't lie, as much as I would admire the beam, YES, I would also have to fry some stuff with it too. :eg: Safely of course.

Well-known member

I've never tried popping a balloon with a laser yet, but I have burned some card board with a FAP800 and some wood and a distant plastic garbage can with a NUBM44

Yet, my main interest is in low divergence beams which can travel a great distance without much spread. That can get me into trouble if I hit an airplane with it! I don't shoot low to the horizon due to that possibility anymore.

Well-known member

I need keylock for my s4x and locking carry case. When I asked what did you do? I taped one of those star caps on it. Looked at cheapo penstyle starcap lens....burnt black! I wasn't finished I taped that golden dragon head to it too! 5Ummm yeah ecig tip.....shined flashlight inside it....burnt!
:yabbem: $200 + for laser parts and I didn't get to watch the golden dragon's 2mm mouth light up! :yabbem:
And I am admitting to making a retarted mistake of believing the nubm44 with short on back half had a driver in it or I never would have soldered it together. Even at that without the driver it ran for over a week on 2 x 3.7v batteries and I mean good. So I have no choice but question it when you say he said he got it that way?

Peeps starcaps are kiddy laserpointer stuff! These are high powered multi mode laser diodes! Don't even assemble it without the external spring under the G2 focusing ring! In most cases it is sold separately.

Wish I could find a kit to replace the tailcap button o. My S4X with a keylock.
This laser was able to set a leaf on fire submerged in water while it was raining! As previously mentioned with the S4X it lives up to it's name SURVIVAL LASER!

Banned

Oh I can't argue with exotic wavelengths! I would love an orange laser leaning more towards the yellow spectrum not red.
Burning stuff though obi wan....what would someone use a "survival" laser for?
Yes master. I'm apologizing I was over anxious and thinking about the sando on naboo.

Redcowboy, you made me laugh at the ceiling fan but that's not much distance to the roof which is filled with flammable fiberglass.

Ok I'm admitting it :eg: I was thinking about building a real life hell raiser cube that has an infrared laser parameter alarm and begins
aiming a wide orange beam if you break the ir beams,
uses a pinhead voice "STAY AWAY!" and
:lasergun: blast anyone that picks it up with a focused orange beam.

:yabbem: I know master it was sinister and ill conceived and my thoughts betray me.

Well-known member

That was Accutronitis who burned his ceiling fan.
I have planks of wood set up that I can replace if I just must test a laser indoors, also cinder block makes a good beam stop, but because of the smoke and burnt smells I prefer to keep my burning to my workshop or outside in a safe manner.

Banned

I may leave this post. Some may instantly figuire it out some may not.
:banghead: It's the scientific calculation to determine how much light makes it to the human brain!

Can't seem to find my other post on beam correction for the nubm44-6w-450nm-laser-diode but I did finally find all the parts I needed. $119.79 without having anything fabricated for it. That's not including the cylindrical lens pair. (((9T))) and working up. THORRRRRRRRR!!!!

Banned

Dtr, they are good diodes but it's not safe to run the numb44 at 4.5 amp for very long. The first one I admit was a mistake of running without a driver. The second one had a driver at 4.5 amps. Both of them burnt a hole through the diode lens. I looked at the first one under a 3x magnification and it also has tiny holes in it. The diodes still work but the lens has holes burnt through it on both. It's possible that it may have been a little hot but had been turned off for a few minutes and I hadn't had it on for even a minute outside burning a 2x2 piece of wood at about 14 inches away when the rectangle turned elliptical right in front of me.

Banned

I haven't had mine de-canned yet. I don't have the tools myself to do it.

Now I just need to find someone who can decan 2 of them for me (if it's cheaper than replacing the two diodes @ $250.00) and a multi tester that can read ohms...think it was like 0-4.5 amp...so I still got a working driver and all...just need to adjust the pot on it

I read Leo's post about de-canning...(I need a better cam so I can zoom in on that lens i mean it left tiny needle holes)...while it's interesting and I guess does the job...I may have to buy that tool...might come in handy later.
De-canned the NUBM44...I have no doubts may run indefinitely without that lens but from what I am seeing the lens in them isn't strong enough for the diode itself (at 4.5 amps). I may be wrong but I am questioning when this happened to mine both times that I focused it to a thin line and focused just a bit further until it made a square when it burnt the lens...I have no way of testing or confirming this though.

Banned

My thought the damage could occur through the G2 lens being backed out too far and reflections from the beam hitting the lens holder barrel probably isn't it, after sleeping on the idea I'm doubtful now. However if you did have residue from your finger on the lens, that could do it.

Same thing Alaskan. I have 2 diodes that have a hole burned through the glass. The 2nd diode i know can still burn but it makes a dot beam. I can't prove it but swear to it both of them I had focused it into a thin line and just a bit further to make a square when it burn through the glass. The window in these can't seem to handle the max output.

This is more what my 2nd diode beam looks like on the one that could still burn before I desoldered it.

Heat is definitely an issue Alaskan...I have the extended and tailered copper heatsink from SL and that thing is hot as sticking your hand in a skillet.

Attachments

Well-known member

Just to make things more clear, the diode window is not a lens. It confuses the subject to call it that. The G-2 is an aspheric lens. That is the lens and the diode has fused silica for the window, IIRC.